Berry Knudson had a talent for disaster, but when she climbed a tree to rescue a kitten, she wasn't prepared for the scrumptious hunk undressing in a nearby window, or her dive downward that smashed Jake Sawyer's pizza and won his heart! But was there room in her chaotic schedule for a risk-taking inventor with dreams? She took classes, delivered pizzas, and cared for three eccentric old ladies she rescued from the train station. But Jake thrived on a challenge, and he could be very inventive. Could he teach her there was time to make butterscotch pudding and let herself be loved?

Product Description

About the Author

Bestselling author Janet Evanovich is the winner of the New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Award and multipleRomantic Timesawards, including Lifetime Achievement. She is also a long-standing member of RWA.

If you have a choice between reading the romance, The Grand Finale, and re-reading a favorite Plum, go ahead and stick in your thumb and pull out the Plum. Then you'll have a grand finale to your evening, rather than the experience of reading a book about a grand finale . . . that isn't totally satisfying.

The opening of The Grand Finale is strong . . . but the book quickly runs downhill from there. Fans of Stephanie Plum will see parallels between that wonderful, goofy character and pizza-store owner and college student, Berry Knudsen. Fans of Grandma Mazur will enjoy the plot complications of having three somewhat similar characters in the story . . . but will be disappointed that they lack the total daffiness of Grandma Mazur's fixations. The familiar pratfalls are here, but they come a bit too fast and too frequently to be continually funny.

The book's story primarily depends on two plot devices: an attractive man, Jake Sawyer, who is ready to settle down with a woman he just met, and continuing failures to communicate between Berry and Jake. The former device works much better than the latter, which comes across as strained and more than a little unrealistic.

I thought that the book's value was mostly to be found in exploring the idea of trying to be kind to others, and how that affects how you organize your life. I also enjoyed comparing Berry and Stephanie to better understand the brilliance of Ms. Evanovich's writing about Stephanie Plum.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)

Amazon.com:
153 reviews

52 of 55 people found the following review helpful

slightly less than grandFeb. 24 2009

By
she reads
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Mass Market Paperback

When I read the exerpt of this book I got really excited. The first chapter is gold! He's a wealthy inventor, she's a struggling pizza place owner and going back to school for her degree. That's the premise for this, the latest re-released Janet Evanovich romance novel.

Let me start by saying I adore Janet's works, and have really enjoyed most all of the re-released (pre-plum) romances that she put out. This one is OK, and being such a fan I had to go and read it, but it's not all that great.

First off, our hero is instantly smitten to the point of thinking marriage. Secondly, our heroine is really focused on goals but for no particular reason other than having them. She doesn't want love because she's so focused on getting her college degree- but she has no real plan once she gets it. At the same time, perhaps due to space constraints, some of the things that the hero does seem borderline creepy and unbelieveable for a near stranger. I'm cutting this some slack though- it's only 246 pages it's understandable that a lot of character and plot development is not what it could be.

The bright spots are the usual J.E. humor and the three old ladies who live with Berry (heroine). I'd say if you're a major Evanovich fan you'll want to read this, otherwise skip it.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

Not Too Bad, But Far From Ms. Evanovich's Best!!Sept. 1 2005

By
Jana L. Perskie
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Long before author Janet Evanovich turned Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter extraordinaire, loose on the citizens of Trenton, NJ, she wrote 12 short romance novels, all screwball comedies with happy endings, some involving just a tad of mystery for extra spice. These small treats, (like a piece of good chocolate, they lift your spirits), were published by the Loveswept line between the years 1988 and 1992. I have read and enjoyed almost all of them. It is also interesting, if you are an Evanovich fan, to read one of her early novelettes and compare it, her characters and her now famous humor, with her latest work. "The Grand Finale" is one of the weakest books in the series. It is a short, simple romance with minimal plot.

Lingonberry Knudsen, called Berry, is a young divorcee and pizza parlor owner with an extraordinarily kind heart. She recently advertised for a delivery boy but hired three homeless old woman instead. Two of them cannot drive, poor eyesight, and one has no sense of direction, so they're back at the pizzeria baking, while Berry is in an isolated part of town making deliveries after dark in her battered surplus army jeep. The three older ladies also moved in with Berry, who lives in a small space over the store. One can hardly expect Lingonberry to send them back to their old spot on the floor at the train station. As she approaches what seems to be a deserted house, she hears a kitten crying...or mewing. The tiny kitty cat is stuck up a tree. So up Berry climbs to the rescue, just in time to see the home owner, and prospective pizza owner, drive up in a perfectly restored Stutz Bearcat, enter the house, climb the stairs to his bedroom and proceed to undress - no shades - almost exactly at Berry's eye level. She lets go of the branch she has been sitting on, while ogling, just as Mr. Gorgeous drops his briefs. Needless to say, she falls out of the tree, on top of the pizza, and screams. Thus she meets tall, dark and handsome Jake Sawyer.

Jake teaches first grade school at the local elementary school. As a chemist, he originally worked as a corporate chemist in R&D. He hated his job and hated standing/sitting under florescent lights everyday. Therefore Jake Sawyer set his mind to work on something more interesting - Gunk! He invented Gunk, which all kids and some adults love. "It creeps. It crawls. It comes in five scents and three flavors (yes, it's edible). It's freezable. It's disgusting!" Don't tell that to the kids.`

So we have adorable Berry with a talent for disaster; Jake the answer to almost every disaster I can think of; Mrs. Dugan, Mrs. Fitz and Mildred, three outrageously eccentric old women, a new dog and a lot of home made butterscotch pudding.

As I wrote previously, this is short, simple and sweet. If fluff offends you, steer clear of "The Grand Finale," written in the days when Janet Evanovich was developing the talent that authored the terrific Stephanie Plum series. There are other books in this Loveswept series which are much more interesting, although not really more complex than this one.

JANA

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful

Delightful, Fun, Light ReadJuly 11 2009

By
Miss Jennifer R. Scott
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Mass Market Paperback

First let me say I am a new J.E. reader having just been introduced to Stephanie Plum -- the reason I mention that is I'm thinking the readers who were so disappointed perhaps have their standards a bit too high after reading the Plum series. That said, I am not a *huge* romance fan in general, but I picked this up simply because of her name being on it (OK, that and the cute kitty on the cover!). I had fun reading this. Yes, it is a little dated, a little light on plot, but it is still enjoyable. It is fast and funny, just perfect for a summer lawn-chair read. It is like a sweet "PG-rated" romantic comedy film in book form. A "popcorn" book, I guess. Who doesn't like one of those as a guilty pleasure now and again? I sure do!

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful

Can't Take It Too SeriouslyMarch 9 2009

By
J. Schneider
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Mass Market Paperback

I'm a big Janet Evanovich fan. I like her short romance novels as well. I read this one after coming off another very intense novel that required a lot of thinking. This book did not require any thinking, except maybe pondering how all this could ever be possible. My main problem with Janet's romance novels is the women. She has since written about some pretty strong and independent women, but the women in these books, including Lingonberry in this book, are all so easily swayed by these men who are total strangers.

These books are good for a little mindless brain candy. It will only take you a couple of hours to read. During that time, you can just forget about the real world, and live in Janet's crazy world where everybody has a crazy pet, a crazy old lady, and a crazy man who will fall in love with you after about 3 minutes.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

"FLUFFY" AND FUNNov. 18 2009

By
Red Rock Bookworm
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Mass Market Paperback

If you need a break from all those depressing books with "messages" or the grisly murder mysteries with a gallon of blood on every page and just want a bit of "fluff" to pass a few hours and give you a couple of chuckles then THE GRAND FINALE by Janet Evanovich might be just what the doctor ordered.

No Stephanie Plum in this tale. Instead, this story of a quirky divorcee who owns a pizza joint, attends college, rescues little old ladies living in bus stations and rates an above average in the klutz department is sure to provide a chuckle or two as well as some pretty HOT love scenes.

Berry Knudson is the gal with a genuine talent for calamity and while delivering a pizza she comes upon sexy hunk Jack Sawyer. This chance meeting is a bit unorthodox since it occurs when Berry accidently sees him undressing from her perfect perch in the branches of a tree. (Why she was up in the tree and what happens after she comes crashing into Jacks life is the basis for the story......and it's a hoot).

The Keystone Cops mis-adventures of Berry and Jack.......and their three little old ladies is an easy read that will keep you wondering what will happen next to this disaster prone group. This tome is guaranteed to give you a few laugh out loud moments as well as love scenes that promise long dreamy sighs. This is DEFINITELY a fantasy novel.